Electric rail bond



March 23, 1937. E A, EVERETT 2,0?4,379

ELECTRIC RAIL BOND 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed Nov. 7, 1932 INVENTOR I filmin 76154 March 23, 1937.

Wig- 0 E. A. EVERETT 2,074,379

ELECTRIC RAIL BOND FiledvNoir. 7, 1952 k 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 23, .1937

V I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC RAIL noun Edward A. Everett, Long Island City, iv. Y. Application November 7, 1932, Serial No. 641,596

This invention relates to electric rail bonds, that is, to electric conductors between rails of a railway track where the rails are used for track circuit purposes and it has for an object to provide a bond which can readily be applied and removed; which can be applied to the head of the rail and close to the rail ends; which occupies comparatively'little space and is not likely to be injured by passing trains and to provide a bond that is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and install. I

A particular object of the invention is to provide a bond attached to the rail by a plug in a bottomed hole such as is used in the ball or head of the rail, means is provided for expanding the plug in the hole, thereby securing a reliable con tact between the bond and the rail. In the present invention the plug is, preferably a separate part from the bond itself and is driven through an eye in the bond into the hole in the rail with a driving fit. This enables the plug to be made from a different material from the eye or terminal of the bond and in certain types it enables the plug to be inserted in the rail by itself and the bond attached to the projecting end of the plug. The plug is preferably formed on a taper where it enters the eye of the bondand it may be knurled or corrugated whereit engages the eye to secure a non-turning engagement between the plug and the terminal. An-

other object of the invention is to provide a bond from sheet stock which is provided with eyes at each end for attaching to the rails and is flexed 5 in the middle portion to yield to the movement of the rails by expansion and contraction and by vibration due to passing trains. Other objects of the invention will be more particularly understood from the following specification and the accompanying drawings showing a variety of forms of the invention; and in which Fig. 1 is a top planview of a bond before attaching to the rail embodying my invention opposite the rail head and with part of the rail 5 sectioned showing the depth of the rail drilling;

Fig. 2 isa side elevation of the bond in place in the rail indicated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the ball-cf a rail with the bond attached thereto; I

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of one form of bond terminal for use with this invention;

Fig. 5 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a form of plug for use with the terminal or eye in Fig. 5, and

Fig. 7 is an end view corresponding to Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a form ternative to Fig.6, and

Fig. 9 is an end view corresponding to Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of a terminal or eye with the plug in place;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view alternative to Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is also a sectional view alternativcto Fig. '10;

.Fig'. 13 is a sectional view of the plug in the rail before the plug has been expanded; and

Fig. 14 is a sectional view of the plug in the rail with another form of expander.

A type of rail bond has been in use in recent years which is attached to the head or ball of the rail and can therefore be located close to the rail joint and made comparatively short. One difficulty in connection with this type of bond is to insure a permanent and reliable connection to the rail and at the same time a connection that can be removed or replaced when the bond becomes defective. from the fact that it is permissible to drill only a comparatively shallow hole in the head of the railand which is bottomed in the rail. It is thus impossible to rivet or otherwise secure the plug after it is driven in the hole in the manner which can be adopted when a plug goes clean through a hole and is accessible from the opposite side. It is necessary, therefore, in the present invention, to provide means for expanding the attachof plug a1- This condition arises mainly ing plug when it is driven into the hole. For this purpose it is desirable to make the plug separately from the bond terminal so that it may be of softer material and comparatively easy to expand and force into the contour of the hole.

It is found in practice that there are slight variations in the size of the hole and also that it is. not possible to obtain a uniform depth of hole with any degree of accuracy and the plug attachment must be suitable for these conditions.

In the present invention it. is contemplated to use bonds made fromsheet stock that is properly flexed and annealed between the terminals, while the terminals are made from hardened stock and are preferably provided with an eye around which a flange is drawn for receiving the terminal plug. This bond may be attached to the plug after it is inserted in the rail or may be attached with the plug.

In the drawings, H is one rail and I2 is the abutting rail and I3 is the flexible conducting part of the bond which maintains the circuit between the adjoining rails. The rail heads are drilled with bottomed holes as indicated at l5 to receive the plugs 14 of the bond which are mounted in the eyes is, these eyes having lugs or sockets at H to which the standard conductor 53 is attached. When the bond'is driven in place as indicated in Fig. 3, it will be noted that the col- 5 lar or flange it bears snugly against the face of the rail and at the same time spaces the conductor 93 from the rails which aids in preventing the vibration of the rail being transmitted to the flexible conductor. to The terminals or eyes it may be constructed as indicated in Fig. 4 with the socket i8 for the conductor l3 and the eye is provided with ridges 25 which engage the slots 22 of the pin or plug it. This provides a non-turning engagement be- 15 tween the plug and the eye and this result may be secured in other ways as, for instance, by the knurling 29, Fig. 3. The plug it is also tapered with a slight taper as indicated at 23 on the portion which engages the eye so that as these so plugs are driven into place from the end 29, they tighten in the eye of the bond and they draw the collar it: closely against the face of the rail. The soclret i6 is merely one of a variety of means that may be used to attach the conductor to the terminal which should be arranged to suit the type of conductor used.

Several forms of expanding the plug in the hole are illustrated in Figs. 10 to 14. The plug is provided with a central aperture 29 in which the 30 drift pin 2? is driven to expand the plug. In

Fig. 10, the drift pin El is made of steel, while the plug it is of softer material such as copper or bronze, which yields to the pressure of the pin and expands the plug to correspond with the hole 35 where it is inserted.

in Fig. 11, the hole in the plug 36 isprovided with the pellet 39 of a comparatively soit material which is spread out as the drift pin 29 is driven into the hole which in turn expands the so plug it in the hole. A corresponding result may be obtained by the construction in Fig. 12 in which the drift pin 2? is provided with a soft nose 29 which mushrooms as indicated in exaggerated form by the dotted line as the driit pin 45 is forced into place and thus the plug id is expanded in the hole. It should also noted that the drift pin tends to expand the plug in the eye it.

In practice it is found that the expanding pres 5 sureirom the drift pin shouldtake place on that portion of the plug which is enclosed by the hole in. the rail. For instance, in Fig. 13, ifthe hole in the plug 533 is not below the line of the outer edge of the rail i2 when the pin 32 is driven into 55 place, the plug will tend to bulge as indicated in dotted outline at 3?, this condition may be brought about when the hole in the rail is not or suficient depth, or when the hole 33 is not of sumclent depth. 2 v so The construction in Fig. i lshows a form of expander for the plug which is applied to the inner end of the plug and usually comprises an insert as having awedge formation which engages the bottom of the hole and expands the plugwithin as the hole. In this construction the stock of the plug at is comparatively heavy and prevents ging the plug at the point where it enters the rail. This condition, however, is substantially prevented by the eyelet type oi terminal in which 70 the separate plug is driven through the terminal into the hole, thereby forcing the collar 59 against the rail and preventing the plug from crowding or bulging at the entrance to the rail.

It will be observed from the drawings that the 7 diameter of the plug is much greater than the aovaavo depth of the rail hole, in practice a ratio of about 9 to 5 is used. It is not permissible to drill a deep hole in the rail head, the present type of bond is applied to a hole about deep. In order that the bond may be firmly attached to the rail, that it may have sufficient contact area with the rail and that the plug may be stout enough to be driven out of the hole by a glancing blow from thehammer, it is essential that the plug have a diameter substantially greater than the depth of the hole; also it is necessary that the plug either be solid, or have walls of such thickness that it will act substantially as a solid plug when driven into or when driven out of the rail hole.

There are a number of advantages in the use of an eyelet with a separate pin or plug of substantially uniform diameter in this construction. The plug can be made from bar stock on an automatic machine and may be made from a difierent material from the eyelet. When applied to a bottomed hole, the eyelet-terminal is always brought tightly against the rail head while the plug adapts itself to holes of different depths and is firmly secured in such holes. placing oz" the terminal against the rail could .not be secured with a plug that is made solid with the terminal when the rail holes are of difierent depths.

The plug is the part that receives the hammer through its projecting end when the attachment is made to the rail, the eyelet cannot be injured in this operation and plugs may be replaced in the eyelets. If the eyelet is made from a comparatively soft or bendable metal it is highly desirable to shield it from the hammer. The eyelet enclosesthe plug where it enters the rail hole thereby preventing the body of the plug from spreading at the entrance to the rail hole.

in the several forms of the invention illustrated, showing the flexible bond, the terminals and the attaching plug, it should be understood that the construction in the various figures is largely alternative to each other and the substitution in whole or in part of the features of one type for another is contemplated by the inven- 'tlon.

It should be understood that plugs that are made from material such as copper, bronze or soft steel, when forced into a hole in the rail by the hammer are expanded in the hole as soon as the pin engages the bottom of the hole without any other expanding means for this purpose and plugs of this type may be used with the present invention. The rail attachment of this invention has its greatest use in bonds for rail joints, but the same attachment is used for making electrical connection to the rail for any purpose.

In the illustrations, Figs. 7 to 13 inclusive, the plug that is inserted in the rail hole is tightened or expanded in the hole by the use of a driftpin, driven into the plug after it is in place. The use of drift pins for this purpose is well known in this art, examples applied to plugs that go through the rail will be found in U. S. Patents 601,707, April 5, 1898, and 666,403, Jan. 22, 1901; and examples applied to a bottomed hole in the rail will be found in U. S. Patents 709,878, Sept. 30, 1902; 900,298, Oct. 6, 1908 and 900,488, Oct.

6, 1908. The above patents, also U. S. Patent 633,887, Sept. 26, 1899, and British Patent 13,275 of 1904 show examples of rail bonds having a flexible conductor with solid terminals at the ends and with a plug formed integral with the terminal for securing in the rail hole.

An outstanding difierence between this inven This uniform tion and the prior art residesin the use of terminals for the bond having an aperture corresponding in diameter with the diameter 'of the hole in therail and a bonding pin, or plug, fit ting this aperture or eye and the rail hole with a driving fit, whereby the bond is tightly attached totherail by driving the pinrthrough the terminal and into the rail. The plug may be solid, or may be drilled for the drift pin. In the latter case the walls of the plug are comparatively thick and heavy so that it stands up under the action of the hammer as it is driven into place. When, applied to bottomed holes in therail, the heavy jbodyof the plug is, in practice, easily driven out of the rail hole. by a glancing blow ofthe hammer,:leaving the hole in condition for the application of a new bond.

In connection with the term driving fit as used herein, it should be noted that the plug and the eye of the bond are produced in a manufacturing establishment and there is no difiiculty in securing a tight driving fit between the plug and the eyelet. The holes that are drilled in the rail head are not always uniform and cannot be produced with the same precision as the holes in the eyelets. A reason for this is that after plugs have been removed several times from a hole, it tends to become slightly enlarged, but a more prolific cause arises from the fact that drills for drilling the rail are not always properly sharpened; sometimes the point is off-centered, or for other reasons, the drill makes a hole slightly larger than normal into which the plug may be forced without driving. Holes of this character are herein referred to as being of a driving fit for the plug and the driving force is maintained upon the plug until it expands and becomes a tight fit in the hole.

Certain matter divided out of this application appears in copending applications 665,737, filed April 12, 1933; 700,841, filed Dec. 4, 1933 and 56,865, filed Dec. 31, 1935.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a rail having a bottomed' hole, a bond comprising a conductor, a terminal having a socket for said conductor and having an eye of the same diameter as the rail hole and a plug substantially larger in diameter than the depth of the rail hole driven through said eye with a driving fit into the rail hole.

2. In combination, a rail having a bottomed hole, a conducting member, an eye connected to said conducting member and a metal plug softer in parts than said eye and having a diameter substantially larger than the depth of the rail hole driven with a driving fit through said eye into the rail hole and being a driving fit in the rail hole and means for expanding the plug in the rail hole.

3. A rail bond to be secured in a bottomed hole in the head of a rail comprising a conducting member, an eye connected to said member and a metal plug having a nose softer than the metal of said eye driven through said eye into the bottomed hole and a drift pin for expanding said plug in the hole.

4.. A rail bond to be secured toa rail by a bottomed hole in the head of the rail, comprising a conducting member, having an eye, a plug driven through said eye into the bottomed hole, said plug having a tapered engagement with said eye and means for expanding said plug in the hole. i 5. A rail bond to be secured to a rail by a bottomed hole in the head of the rail comprising a conductor with an eye substantially the size of the rail hole, a plug driven through said eye into the bottomed hole with a driving fit in the eye and in the rail hole, said plug and said eye engaging each other with a non-turning engage ment. I l j 6. A rail bond to be secured'to arail by'a bot tomed hole in the head of the rail, comprising a conductor with an eye, a plug driven through said eye into the bottomed hole, said plug having a tapered and a non-turning engagement with said eye and means for expanding said plug in, the hole.

7. A rail bond to be secured to a rail by'abottomed hole in the head of the rail, comprising a conductor with an eye, a plug driven through said eye into the bottomed hole, said plug being knurled where it engages said eye, and means for expanding said plug in thehole.

8. Incombination, a rail having a bottomed hole, a conductor with a terminal having an eye substantially the size of the rail hole, said terminal being placed against the rail and a plug of a driving fit for the rail hole driven with a driving fit through said eye by its projecting end into the bottomed hole to secure the terminal to the rail.

9. In combination, a rail having a bottomed hole, a conductor with a terminal having an eye with a fiange around the eye, said flange being placed against the rail and a plug of a driving fit for the rail hole and substantially larger in diameter than the depth of the rail hole and driven with a driving fit by its projecting and through said eye into the bottomed hole and means for expanding the plug in the hole.

10. A rail bond to be secured to a rail by a bottomed hole in the head of the rail comprising a conductor having an eye and a plug driven through said eye into the bottomed hole, said plug having a tapered engagement with the eye and a drift pin passing through said plug for expanding said plug in the hole.

11. In combination, a rail with a hole that is substantially wider than it is deep, a conductor having a terminal with an eye and a plug driven with a driving fit through said eye into the rail. hole being a driving fit in the rail hole for making the connection, sai'd eye being at least as large in diameter as the rail" hole.

12. A rail connector for connecting to a bottomed hole in a railway rail comprising a conductor, a terminal connected to said conductor and having an eye, a plug passing through said eye and engaging said hole with a driving fit and having a central aperture and a drift pin for said aperture, said drift pin havinga soft nose and expanding said plug as it is driven into said aperture.

13. A rail connector for connecting to a bottomed hole in a railway rail comprising a conductor, a terminal connected to said conductor and having an eye, a plug passing through said eye and engaging said hole and having a central aperture, a comparatively soft material in the bottom of said aperture and a drift pin for said aperture expanding said soft material asthe pin is driven into said aperture.

14. A rail-connector for connecting to a bottomed hole in a railway rail comprising a conductor, a terminal connected to said conductor aperture and a drift pin for said aperture for expanding said plug in the hole, said drift pin being harder than said plug.

15. In combination, a rail with a bottomed hole, a conductor having a terminal with an eye of substantially the same diameter as the rail hole and a plug driven with a driving fit through said eye'and' into the rail hole and being a driving fit in the rail hole.

16. A rail connector for connecting a conductor to a railway rail by means of a hole in the rail, comprising a terminal for the conductor, an eye in said terminal and a plugfitting said eye with a driving fit andhaving its projecting end fitting the rail hole with a driving fit said plug being substantially larger in diameter than the depth of said rail hole.

17. A rail connector for connecting a conductor to a railwayrail by means of a hole in the rail, comprising a terminal for the conductor, an eye in said terminal and a plug fitting said eye with a driving fit and with'its ends projecting and having one projecting end fitting the rail hole with a driving fit, said terminal being placed against the rail to provide an enclosing collar for the plug as it is driven into place and said plug being driven into place by its other project ing end.

18. A terminal for a rail bond comprising an eye to which the conductor of the bond is attached, a plug for securing said eye to a bottomed hole in the rail, said plug comprising a member having a radius corresponding with the radius of said eye and the radius of said rail hole and driven through the eye into the rail hole to hold the wall of the-eye and the wall of the rail hole in alignment.

EDWARD A. EVERE'I'I. 

